System for charging mobile device using an ad-hoc infrastructure with energy harvesting capabilities

ABSTRACT

A system and method for charging of a mobile device in an ad hoc charging system. A plurality of mobile device users are registered in the ad hoc charging system, each with a charging profile. A plurality of charging stations are registered in the ad hoc charging system, each with a charge supply profile. A mobile device user is authenticated as an ad hoc charging system registered user with one of the plurality of registered charging stations, thereby enabling a charging connection between the authenticated user and the one registered charging station. The charging of the authenticated user&#39;s mobile device is controlled according to the authenticated user&#39;s charging profile and the one registered charging station&#39;s charge supply profile. Energy monitoring, movement tracking, energy prediction, user notification and energy allocation features are also included.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to charging mobile devices and moreparticularly to a system and method for charging of a mobile device inan ad hoc charging system.

Today, drivers and car passengers charge their mobile devices insidetheir cars. Other people on the street have to find a place to chargetheir mobile device if they run out of battery. Often they either haveto find a restaurant or a coffee shop that allows them to charge themobile device or risk staying for an extended period of timedisconnected and looking for a place to charge the battery. Few publiccharging stations are available in large cities and making such stationswidely available would require extensive infrastructure investment.

While there are known systems for recharging electric vehicles usingother electric vehicles, there is currently a need for a system focusedon recharging mobile devices while accounting for the movement of themobile device user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment a system and method for charging of a mobile device inan ad hoc charging system is disclosed. The system and method includesregistering a plurality of mobile device users in the ad hoc chargingsystem, the registration includes a charging profile. The system andmethod also includes registering a plurality of charging stations in thead hoc charging system, the registration including a charge supplyprofile. A mobile device user is authenticated as an ad hoc chargingsystem registered user with one of the plurality of registered chargingstations, thereby enabling a charging connection between theauthenticated user and the one registered charging station. The systemand method further includes controlling the charging the authenticateduser's mobile device according to the authenticated user's chargingprofile and the one registered charging station's charge supply profile.

In one embodiment the system and method includes monitoring the currentcharge of the authenticated user's mobile device, alerting theauthenticated user that the current charge is below a threshold set inthe user's charging profile. The system may further include locating oneor more of the plurality of registered charging stations within a presetdistance range of the authenticated user, filtering the registeredcharging stations within the preset distance range based on a degree ofa match between the charging profile of the authenticated user and thecharge supply profile of the registered charging stations within thepreset distance range and sending the location information of the one ormore registered charging stations within the preset distance range tothe authenticated user and found to be within the degree of the match.

In another embodiment, the system and method include predicting themobile device energy usage of a registered mobile device user, sendingan alert to the mobile device user that the current charge of the mobiledevice is insufficient for the predicted energy usage, tracking thelocation of the registered user, selecting one of the one or moreregistered charging stations within the preset distance range of theauthenticated user based on the tracked location of the registered userand based on an energy allocation criteria, and automaticallyestablishing a charging connection between the authenticated user andthe selected registered charging station for charging the authenticateduser's mobile device.

In one embodiment, the registered user is authenticated to obtain chargefrom a set of the plurality registered charging stations based on theauthentication at the one registered charging station, each registeredcharging station in the set of the plurality of registered chargingstations being identified as being part of the set in the charge supplyprofile of the registered charging station.

One embodiment includes a computer system including a server having oneor more computer processors, one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media and program instructions, stored on theone or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, which whenimplemented by the one or more processors, cause the computer system toperform the steps of registering a plurality of mobile device users inthe ad hoc charging system, registering a plurality of charging stationsin the ad hoc charging system, authenticating a mobile device user as anad hoc charging system registered user with one of the plurality ofregistered charging stations, thereby enabling a charging connectionbetween the authenticated user and the one registered charging stationand controlling the charging the authenticated user's mobile deviceaccording to the authenticated user's charging profile and the oneregistered charging station's charge supply profile.

One embodiment includes a non-transitory article of manufacture tangiblyembodying computer readable instructions, which when implemented, causea computer to perform the steps of registering a plurality of mobiledevice users in the ad hoc charging system, registering a plurality ofcharging stations in the ad hoc charging system, authenticating a mobiledevice user as an ad hoc charging system registered user with one of theplurality of registered charging stations, thereby enabling a chargingconnection between the authenticated user and the one registeredcharging station and controlling the charging the authenticated user'smobile device according to the authenticated user's charging profile andthe one registered charging station's charge supply profile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is block diagram of one embodiment of a system for charging of amobile device in an ad hoc charging system.

FIG. 2 is flow chart of one embodiment of a method for charging of amobile device in an ad hoc charging system.

FIG. 3 is flow chart of another embodiment of a method for charging of amobile device in an ad hoc charging system.

FIG. 4 is flow chart of another embodiment of a method for charging of amobile device in an ad hoc charging system.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system suitable forimplementation of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates to using an ad-hoc infrastructure withharvestable renewable energy capabilities to charge mobile devices, forexample, mobile phones, tablets, cameras, electric wheel chairs or anyother mobile device that has a battery that can be charged. An exampleof an ad-hoc infrastructure with harvestable renewable energycapabilities are parked electric vehicles. The energy supplier willrecharge itself with its normal operation, so energy is renewable andwill be wasted if not used. Individuals charge their mobile devices fromthe battery of the ad-hoc infrastructure. The individuals are notnecessarily the vehicle owners, drivers, or passengers but rather anyoneparticipating in the system within a distance limitation. Theinfrastructure owners are compensated either financially from the personcharging the mobile device or through credit that allows them to use thesystem for free or use other services such as free city parking orpreferred parking spaces.

Electric vehicles harvest energy from driving or other sources and storeit in large batteries. The infrastructure is self-refreshed as newvehicles are brought to market and thus new technology is continuouslybeing deployed without any additional replacement costs, such asreplacing the charging station at a coffee shop or a lighting poll by anew model. The infrastructure is ad-hoc in the sense that the locationis not fixed and moves with the travel patterns of people and thus movesto areas of high demand. For example, during the day a largeconcentration of vehicles are present in business areas while in theevening a large concentration of vehicles are in entertainment areas andlate at night at residential areas. The infrastructure is dense as thereare parked cars are everywhere.

Mechanisms that enable pricing, authentication, and automated processingof financial transactions are components of one embodiment of theinvention. Suppliers can set the price they wish to charge for energyand consumers can set a profile containing a price they are willing topay for energy. This information is used to match consumers to nearbysuppliers, and can be used to automatically initiate charging frommultiple vehicles without intervention from either the supplier orconsumer.

Short range systems such as MagMIMO® that can detect when a phone is inrange and directs a magnetic field to charge a phone safely at a rangeof 30 cm can be used in the present system. Extended range wirelesscharging systems that are currently available that can charge a phone atdistances up to 9 m can also be used in the present invention. Theextended range wireless charging systems currently available, such asCota®, use steered phased array microwave antennas and the time-reversalproperties of electromagnetic radiation to focus the power on thereceiver and prevent the radiation to hit obstacles resulting in a safecharging system.

Several thousands of antennas are used to detect the exact direction atwhich the wireless charging should be directed to reach the receiver.The locator beacon is pulsed 100 times/sec and thus the transmitter iseasily able to track the motion of the charging receiver as it moves.

In one example of an embodiment of the invention, John is walking on thesidewalk making phone calls from his cell phone. The phone batterystarts to become dangerously low. John is participating in the parkedcars charging station system. The system detects that John's phone isrunning low on battery and sends him an alert pointing him to the parkedcars that are close to him and are offering a charging station servicealong with the corresponding charging cost for each car. John choosesone of the cars that is offering a reasonable charging quote and walkstowards that car. John puts his mobile phone on the wireless fastcharging pad on the car or connects wirelessly to the car and waits forthe battery charge to reach a desired level. Alternatively he could haveused the plug that is equipped on the car. John removes his phone fromthe wired connection or disconnects the wireless connection afteracquiring the desired charge and continues his walk. The system deductsthe charging cost from John's account and credits the car owneraccordingly.

In a second example of an embodiment of the invention, Jane is walkingon the sidewalk with her phone in her handbag. Jane is participating inthe parked cars charging station system.

Jane's phone battery is at 15% charge. Jane has previously setup herprofile on the system indicating that she would like to receive energyto her phone from parked cars if the phone battery falls below 16% andif the charging cost is less than a certain monetary amount per watt.Cars that are also participating in this system and have enough chargedetect when Jane's phone is close and wirelessly transmit energy toJane's phone. The system automatically deducts the charging cost fromJane's account and credits accordingly the owners of the cars thattransmitted energy to Jane's phone.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the ad hoc chargingsystem 10 of the invention. The system 10 includes a computer server 12having one or more computer processors, one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media and program instructions, stored on theone or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, which whenimplemented by the one or more processors, cause the computer server toperform certain steps of the method of the invention. Server 12 can alsobe a cloud-based system.

A mobile device 14 seeks to obtain battery charge from a mobile chargingstation 16, such as a parked car. The energy may be obtained directlyfrom car 16 or from a fixed charging station 18 coupled to car 16. Theserver 12 includes a movement tracking module 20, a database 22, atransaction processing module 24 an energy allocation module 26 and aregistration, authentication and control module 28. The server 12 alsoincludes a profile matching module 44 and a user notification module 46.The mobile charging station 16 includes an authentication module 30 andan application manager 32. The fixed charging station 18 also includesan authentication module 34 and an application manager 36. The mobiledevice 14 includes an energy monitoring module 38, an energy predictionengine 40 and an energy usage history module 42. Alternatively, modules38, 40 and 42 can be on server 12.

The mobile device users 14 that are participating in the system firstregister an account using module 28. The account registration contains acharging profile related to the battery status notification and charginglimits and related to the desired charging costs, such as the highestprice the user is willing to pay. The profile also includesauthentication identification information. The charging profile isstored in database 22. The charging stations 16, 18 that areparticipating in the system also first register an account using module28 with a charge supply profile, such as the maximum energy that eachstation can provide along with a quote of the charging cost. Thecharging supply profile is also stored in database 22.

The authentication module 28 authenticates a mobile device user as an adhoc charging system registered user with one of the registered chargingstations, thereby enabling a charging connection between theauthenticated user and the one registered charging station. Theauthentication module 28 then enables the charging of the authenticateduser's mobile device according to the authenticated user's chargingprofile and the one registered charging station's charge supply profile.

The movement tracking module 20 obtains the user's location and thecurrent battery charge. Alternately, module 20 may be on the mobiledevice application. The movement tracking module 20 obtains the locationinformation of the user when the user logs into the system and requestsinformation on available charging stations or by tracking the movementof the user. Matching module 44 suggests to the user the locations ofthe stations that match the profile setting and can provide batterycharging service. Alternatively, module 44 can be on the mobile deviceapplication, in which case the matching is done locally between themobile device and the charging stations. For each individual userrequesting a battery charging service, matching module 44 filters thelist of stations that are within a desired maximum distance and maximumcharging cost. Notification module 46 notifies the individual user 14with the information related to the matching station. Once theindividual user 14 reaches the desired station, the user uses the mobiledevice charging mechanism that is equipped on the station, which can bewireless or wired. The transaction module 24 processes a transactiondeducting the charging cost from the account of the individual user 14receiving the service and credits the account of the owner of chargingstation 16 that is providing the service.

The charging station 16, 18 must recognize and authenticate the mobiledevice 14 when it is close in order to provide the charging service tothe device that is requesting it. Authentication modules 30, 34implement authentication wirelessly using systems known in the art. Themobile device and the wireless charging system communicate with eachother to verify the authenticity, power requirements and othercharacteristics of the mobile device and battery to verify and handshakethe presence of the mobile device within proximity to the chargingstation.

The application manager 32, 36 is responsible to orchestrate all theoperations of the charging device/station. The application manager actslike a controller to manage the charging process if the server is notpresent or not currently available. The application manager maytherefore incorporate one or more of the modules that are also on theserver, such as, for example, the transaction processing module 24 andthe energy allocation module 26.

The authentication module 30 may implement a single-sign-on (SSO) methodwith the mobile device 14 allowing the exchange of authenticationinformation across multiple charging stations, typically for a singleowner of multiple charging stations, such as fleet of cars. In oneexample, the SSO can be accomplished by exchanging a token or a cookie.In this way the mobile device can be charged using multiple stations,which saves time for the user and saves charging resources of the ownerfor any additional authentication. The system can be coupled with otheralready existing charging infrastructures, such as private houses andpublic charging stations, in order to share credentials and batteryprofiles. Different policies can be used when multiple charging stationsand mobile devices are involved such as: minimize the charging cost forthe final user, minimize the battery depletion of the charging stations.

The energy monitoring module 38 monitors the state of the charge of themobile device 14 and recognizes when the charge is below a certainthreshold. The prediction engine 40 predicts the usage of the mobiledevice 14 and recognizes when the current battery charge is notsufficient for the future energy needs. The energy needs can bepredicted by tracking the daily usage of the particular device 14 andstoring the usage history in module 42. The usage history may be combedwith other information such as current geographical location.

The notification module 46 sends the mobile device owner notificationwhen events are triggered that either require user intervention or toprovide information. Alternatively, module 46 may also be on the mobiledevice application. The events may be triggered based on a setup that isstored in the user charging profile such as sending a user notificationwhen the battery charge drops below a certain threshold. In oneembodiment, when the mobile device battery charge falls below theindicated charge limit, the mobile device requests a charging servicefrom the system and notifies the user. If an automatic charging isindicated in the user profile, the mobile device acquires charge fromvehicles that are within range and that satisfy the maximum price quote.If a setting to ask the user is indicated, the mobile device issues anotification to the user indicating information that is received fromthe server relating to the parked vehicles that are offering a batterycharging service within the vicinity of the individual. The individualchooses one of the vehicles and uses it to charge the mobile device.

The user notification module 46 also sends information to advise themobile device owner on the locations where the mobile device can receivecharge and also related to the cost of charging at each station. Theuser notification module 46 may send the information either to thedevice itself if it has a display and communication mechanism such as acell phone or to other devices in the case where the device that needscharging does not have notification or connectivity capabilities, suchas a camera.

The movement tracking module 20 keeps track of the location of the userand communicates with the energy optimization and allocation module 26in order to decide from which station to provide energy in the casewhere multiple stations can provide energy to the device.

The movement tracking module 20 also uses statistics collected onprevious travel patterns to predict the movement of the individuals suchas recognize the streets that the individual walks to get to work everyday. The movement tracking module 20 also collaborates with the GPSsystem if used to identify the travel routes that will be taken. In oneexample, if the user already is using the GPS to go to a destinationthen the movement tracking module 20 can use the GPS data to know theexact streets that will be traveled.

In one embodiment, the system may provide suggestions to the mobiledevice owner of new alternative paths of travel where there is highlikelihood of finding charging stations available. In addition, thesystem may provide suggestions to the charging station owner of where topark the vehicle in order to maximize the probability of connecting withmobile devices that need charging. These suggestions are formulatedusing the data stored by the history module 42 and the movement trackingmodule 20, as well as the capabilities offered by the prediction engine40.

The energy allocation module 26 decides on which station to provideenergy to which mobile device. The energy allocation module 26 uses theinformation related to the needed energy of each mobile device, thelocation of each mobile device, and the state of charge of each chargingstation to decide how to allocate the energy. One approach is to providethe mobile device with the most urgent need for energy from the closeststation and thus allocate the devices to charging stations accordingly.The energy allocation module 26 minimizes battery depletion of thecharging stations. In one embodiment, the module 26 includes loadbalancing to handle the energy allocation automatically or based onusers settings.

The transaction processing module 24 receives information from theenergy allocation module 26 to process the transaction between thedevice that received the charge and the station that received thecharge. The transaction is based on the type of subscription that eachdevice has.

The mobile device owners may use a pay-as-you-go scheme where they payfor the exact charge that they received from each station or they maypay a monthly/yearly subscription rate.

The charging station owners may also participate in an earn-as-you-goscheme where they collect a fee in exchange of the exact energy thatthey provide. They also may collect a fixed fee or receive free accessto services such as a free participation in the system, free parkingspaces or free public internet. The transaction can be done in placeusing wireless technologies such as NFC technology. In the case ofmultiple charging devices, different payment policies can be used suchas time-sharing or uniform splitting

In one embodiment, if the network server is not available a user thatwants to recharge his phone scans the neighborhood for the availablecharging vehicles, picks one charging vehicle according to the pricefilter in the profile and recharges the phone and pays locally using theNFC protocol.

In one embodiment, ad-hoc charging system is adaptable to movement,namely the user does not need to stand and wait for the charging processbut he can walk along a sidewalk taking energy from multiple parkedcars. The mobile device will hop from charging station to chargingstation.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of one embodiment the method for charging of amobile device in an ad hoc charging system. The method includes stepS102 registering a plurality of mobile device users in the ad hoccharging system. The registration includes a charging profile for theuser. The method also includes at step S104 registering a plurality ofcharging stations in the ad hoc charging system. The charging stationregistration includes a charge supply profile. In step S106 a mobiledevice user is authenticated as an ad hoc charging system registereduser with one of the plurality of registered charging stations. Onceauthentication is complete, a charging connection is enabled in stepS108 between the authenticated user and the one registered chargingstation. Thereafter, the charging of the authenticated user's mobiledevice is controlled at step S110 according to the authenticated user'scharging profile and the one registered charging station's charge supplyprofile.

In one embodiment, the registered user is authenticated to obtain chargefrom a set of the plurality registered charging stations based on theauthentication at the one registered charging station, each registeredcharging station in the set of the plurality of registered chargingstations being identified as being part of the set in the charge supplyprofile of the registered charging station.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of another embodiment in which the methodincludes step S112 of monitoring the current charge of the authenticateduser's mobile device and step 114 of alerting the authenticated userthat the current charge is below a threshold set in the user's chargingprofile. The method further includes step S116 of locating one or moreof the plurality of registered charging stations within a presetdistance range of the authenticated user, step S118 of filtering theregistered charging stations within the preset distance range based on adegree of a match between the charging profile of the authenticated userand the charge supply profile of the registered charging stations withinthe preset distance range. The method then includes step S120 of sendingthe location information of the one or more registered charging stationswithin the preset distance range to the authenticated user and found tobe within the degree of the match.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a further embodiment in which the methodincludes step S121 of tracking the energy use history of a registeredmobile device user and step S122 of predicting the mobile device energyusage of the tracked user. In step S124 of the method includes sendingan alert to the mobile device user that the current charge of the mobiledevice is insufficient for the predicted energy usage. Thereafter, themethod includes step S126 of tracking the current location of theregistered user and step S128 of selecting one of the one or moreregistered charging stations within the preset distance range of theauthenticated user based on the tracked location of the registered userand based on an energy allocation criteria. Thereafter, the methodautomatically establishing a charging connection at step S130 betweenthe authenticated user and the selected registered charging station forcharging the authenticated user's mobile device.

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic of an example computer or processingsystem that may implement the method for charging of a mobile device inan ad hoc charging system in one embodiment of the present disclosure.The computer system is only one example of a suitable processing systemand is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use orfunctionality of embodiments of the methodology described herein. Theprocessing system shown may be operational with numerous other generalpurpose or special purpose computing system environments orconfigurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments,and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the processingsystem shown in FIG. 5 may include, but are not limited to, personalcomputer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients,handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-basedsystems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloudcomputing environments that include any of the above systems or devices,and the like.

The computer system may be described in the general context of computersystem executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.The computer system may be practiced in distributed cloud computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloudcomputing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

The components of computer system may include, but are not limited to,one or more processors or processing units 100, a system memory 106, anda bus 104 that couples various system components including system memory106 to processor 100. The processor 100 may include a program module 102that performs the methods described herein. The module 102 may beprogrammed into the integrated circuits of the processor 100, or loadedfrom memory 106, storage device 108, or network 114 or combinationsthereof.

Bus 104 may represent one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system may include a variety of computer system readable media.Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computersystem, and it may include both volatile and non-volatile media,removable and non-removable media.

System memory 106 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) and/or cachememory or others. Computer system may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 108 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(e.g., a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive forreading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk(e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from orwriting to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM,DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, eachcan be connected to bus 104 by one or more data media interfaces.

Computer system may also communicate with one or more external devices116 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 118, etc.; one ormore devices that enable a user to interact with computer system; and/orany devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computersystem to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Suchcommunication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces 110.

Still yet, computer system can communicate with one or more networks 114such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN),and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter 112. Asdepicted, network adapter 112 communicates with the other components ofcomputer system via bus 104. It should be understood that although notshown, other hardware and/or software components could be used inconjunction with computer system. Examples include, but are not limitedto: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external diskdrive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storagesystems, etc.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include anon-transitory computer readable storage medium (or media) havingcomputer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processorto carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements, if any, in the claims below areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

In addition, while preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen described using specific terms, such description is forillustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes andvariations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for charging of a mobile device in an adhoc charging system, the method comprising: registering a plurality ofmobile device users in an ad hoc parked vehicle charging system, theregistration including a charging profile, the charging profileincluding limits on charging cost; registering a plurality of vehiclecharging stations in the ad hoc parked vehicle charging system, theregistration including a charge supply profile, the charge supplyprofile including costs for charging; authenticating a mobile deviceuser as an ad hoc charging system registered user in the ad hoc parkedvehicle charging system; automatically enabling a wireless chargingconnection between the authenticated user's mobile device and a firstparked registered vehicle charging station parked at a location within apreset distance of the authenticated user's mobile device; automaticallycontrolling charging the authenticated user's mobile device according tothe authenticated user's charging profile and the first parkedregistered vehicle charging station's charge supply profile; andautomatically enabling the charging connection to the authenticateduser's mobile device to hop from the first parked vehicle chargingstation to a second parked vehicle charging station as the authenticateduser moves out of the preset distance with the first parked registeredvehicle charging station and within the preset distance with the secondparked registered vehicle charging station.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising monitoring the current charge of the authenticateduser's mobile device, alerting the authenticated user that the currentcharge is below a threshold set in the user's charging profile, locatingone or more of the plurality of registered vehicle charging stationswithin a preset distance range of the authenticated user and sending thelocation information of the one or more registered vehicle chargingstations within the preset distance range to the authenticated user. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising selecting one of the one ormore registered vehicle charging stations within the preset distancerange of the authenticated user based on an energy allocation criteriaand automatically establishing a charging connection between theauthenticated user and the selected registered vehicle charging stationfor charging the authenticated user's mobile device.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one registered vehicle charging stationautomatically recognizes a mobile device within a preset distance asbeing a registered mobile device user and performs the authenticationwith the recognized registered mobile device user.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the registered user is authenticated to obtain chargefrom a set of the plurality registered vehicle charging stations basedon the authentication at the one registered vehicle charging station,each registered vehicle charging station in the set of the plurality ofregistered vehicle charging stations being identified as being part ofthe set in the charge supply profile of the registered vehicle chargingstation.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the pluralityof registered vehicle charging stations are one of an electric vehicleand a hybrid electric vehicle and wherein the method further includestracking the location of the vehicles.
 7. The method of claim 3, furtherincluding filtering the registered vehicle charging stations within thepreset distance range based on a degree of a match between the chargingprofile of the authenticated user and the charge supply profile of theregistered vehicle charging stations within the preset distance rangeand sending the location information of the one or more registeredvehicle charging stations found to be within the degree of the match. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising predicting the mobile deviceenergy usage of a registered mobile device user and sending an alert tothe mobile device user that the current charge of the mobile device isinsufficient for the predicted energy usage.
 9. The method of claim 3,further comprising tracking the location of the registered user andselecting one of the one or more registered vehicle charging stationswithin the preset distance range of the authenticated user based on thetracked location of the registered user.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising tracking the energy use and movement history of aregistered mobile device user, predicting the mobile device energy usageof a registered mobile device user and sending a notice to the mobiledevice user suggesting alternative paths of travel based on the numbervehicle charging stations available on each alternative path.
 11. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising tracking the energy use andmovement history of registered mobile device users, predicting themobile device energy usage of registered mobile device users and sendinga notice to registered vehicle charging station vehicles suggestinglocations to park the vehicles based on a probability of connecting withregistered mobile device users needing a charge.
 12. A computer systemfor charging of a mobile device in an ad hoc charging system,comprising: a server having one or more computer processors, one or morenon-transitory computer-readable storage media and program instructions,stored on the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia, which when implemented by the one or more processors, cause thecomputer system to perform the steps of: registering a plurality ofmobile device users in an ad hoc parked vehicle charging system, theregistration including a charging profile, the charging profileincluding limits on charging cost; registering a plurality of vehiclecharging stations in the ad hoc parked vehicle charging system, theregistration including a charge supply profile, the charge supplyprofile including costs for charging; authenticating a mobile deviceuser as an ad hoc charging system registered user in the ad hoc parkedvehicle charging system; automatically enabling a wireless chargingconnection between the authenticated user's mobile device andauthenticating first parked registered vehicle charging station parkedat a location within a preset distance of the authenticated user'smobile device; automatically controlling charging the authenticateduser's mobile device according to the authenticated user's chargingprofile and the first parked registered vehicle charging station'scharge supply profile; and automatically enabling the chargingconnection to the authenticated user's mobile device to hop from thefirst parked vehicle charging station to a second parked vehiclecharging station as the authenticated user moves out of the presetdistance with the first parked registered vehicle charging station andwithin the preset distance with the second parked registered vehiclecharging station.
 13. The computer system of claim 12, furthercomprising monitoring the current charge of the authenticated user'smobile device, alerting the authenticated user that the current chargeis below a threshold set in the user's charging profile, locating one ormore of the plurality of registered vehicle charging stations within apreset distance range of the authenticated user and sending the locationinformation of the one or more registered vehicle charging stationswithin the preset distance range to the authenticated user.
 14. Thecomputer system of claim 13, further comprising: tracking the locationof the registered user; selecting one of the one or more registeredvehicle charging stations within the preset distance range of theauthenticated user based on the tracked location of the registered userand based on an energy allocation criteria; and automaticallyestablishing a charging connection between the authenticated user andthe selected registered vehicle charging station for charging theauthenticated user's mobile device.
 15. The computer system of claim 14,wherein the registered user is authenticated to obtain charge from a setof the plurality registered vehicle charging stations based on theauthentication at the one registered vehicle charging station, eachregistered vehicle charging station in the set of the plurality ofregistered vehicle charging stations being identified as being part ofthe set in the charge supply profile of the registered vehicle chargingstation.
 16. The computer of claim 14, further including filtering theregistered vehicle charging stations within the preset distance rangebased on a degree of a match between the charging profile of theauthenticated user and the charge supply profile of the registeredvehicle charging stations within the preset distance range and sendingthe location information of the one or more registered vehicle chargingstations found to be within the degree of the match.
 17. The computersystem of claim 12, further comprising predicting the mobile deviceenergy usage of a registered mobile device user and sending an alert tothe mobile device user that the current charge of the mobile device isinsufficient for the predicted energy usage.
 18. The method of claim 12,further comprising tracking the energy use and movement history of oneor more registered mobile device user, predicting the mobile deviceenergy usage of one or more registered mobile device user and sending anotice to one or more mobile device users suggesting alternative pathsof travel based on the number of vehicle charging stations available oneach alternative path, and sending a notice to one or more registeredvehicle charging stations suggesting locations to park the vehiclesbased on a probability of connecting with registered mobile device usersneeding a charge.
 19. A non-transitory article of manufacture tangiblyembodying computer readable instructions, which when implemented, causea computer to perform the steps of a method for controlling one or moredrones to respond to a request for information, comprising; registeringa plurality of mobile device users in an ad hoc parked vehicle chargingsystem, the registration including a charging profile, the chargingprofile including limits on charging cost; registering a plurality ofvehicle charging stations in the ad hoc parked vehicle charging system,the registration including a charge supply profile, the charge supplyprofile including costs for charging; authenticating a mobile deviceuser as an ad hoc charging system registered user in the ad hoc parkedvehicle charging system; automatically enabling a wireless chargingconnection between the authenticated user's mobile device and a firstparked registered vehicle charging station parked at a location within apreset distance of the authenticated user's mobile device; automaticallycontrolling charging the authenticated user's mobile device according tothe authenticated user's charging profile and the first parkedregistered vehicle charging station's charge supply profile; andautomatically enabling the charging connection to the authenticateduser's mobile device to hop from the first parked vehicle chargingstation to a second parked vehicle charging station as the authenticateduser moves out of the preset distance with the first parked registeredvehicle charging station and within the preset distance with the secondparked registered vehicle charging station.
 20. The non-transitoryarticle of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the registered user isauthenticated to obtain charge from a set of the plurality registeredvehicle charging stations based on the authentication at the oneregistered vehicle charging station, each registered vehicle chargingstation in the set of the plurality of registered vehicle chargingstations being identified as being part of the set in the charge supplyprofile of the registered charging station.